Speciality Winner Nick Barnard (left) with John Boa, World Porridge Making Champion. Photo: Fergus Thom
When: 4th October 2014 from 11am
Where: Carrbridge, Scotland
£: Free to watch
What is it?
The prestigious 21st Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championships will take place in the Scottish Highlands at Carrbridge Village Hall on Saturday 4th October 2014.
The World Porridge Making Championship title will be awarded to the competitor producing the best traditional porridge, made from oatmeal. The traditional porridge must be made with untreated oatmeal, not with oat flakes, and with only water and salt. The porridge will be judged on consistency, taste and colour.
As well as making traditional porridge, competitors can also take part in the Speciality Competition, where contestants are free to add other ingredients to porridge to produce an array of sweet and savoury dishes. The reigning Speciality Champion is Nick Barnard, joint Founder and Managing Director of Rude Health, who won in 2013 with his ‘Fruity Date Porridge’.
There are national porridge making competitions in America, Scandinavia and England. The winners from these competitions also win a place to compete in Carrbridge, to try to win the infamous Golden Spurtle trophy. A spurtle is a Scottish kitchen utensil designed for stirring porridge. So, who will win the coveted Golden Spurtle at this year’s World Porridge Making Championships and beat the formidable reigning champion, Strathglass man John Boa?
In previous years the trophy has returned with the winners to the USA and Germany. Last year entries included a chef and owner of a porridge bar in Copenhagen; a grain miller and Sweden’s Nordic Porridge Making Champion; an astrophysics student with the formula for cooking porridge, and a Texan mother and cook.
Nick Barnard’s Winning Speciality Dish. Photo: James Ross
As well as the World Porridge Making Championships on Saturday 4th October there will be an official ‘Toast to the Porridge’, local food and craft stalls, a porridge fun run and a showcase of local ales.
The village of Carrbridge has also teamed up with the Scottish-based charity, Mary’s Meals, to establish an international World Porridge Day. The charity operates from a tin shed in the Argyll area of the Scottish Highlands and has one simple aim; to provide a daily meal in a place of education. This is so that chronically poor children are attracted to the classroom, where they can gain a basic education and find an escape route from poverty.
More info: www.goldenspurtle.com and www.facebook.com/GoldenSpurtle